ABSTRACTS
Science, philosophy, and religion are considered as limited aspects of a given body of truth. Attention is given to careful definition of each term. Then science and philosophy are discussed as two branches of religion. Faith, reason, and revelation are mentioned with regard to the creation account. The author concludes that Christian thinkers should agree that philosophy may be understood to be the activity of right reason, and science may be said to be the knowledge of things knowable to sensory perception (direct or indirect), and these cannot be studied without reference to religion, but must serve religion which is Christian truth and life.
Careful attention is given to what is meant by "religion," philosophy," "science," and "history." Religion has to do with right relation to God. Philosophy involves one in the study of all things, and creation and origins would rank only as one are of study among many. Science is organized knowledge and methods of investigation of the natural environment. Therefore, creation, origins, and evolution cannot be studied scientifically. History is developed from written records. The "fossil records," then, cannot be considered as history.
A new look at world prehistory is presented. Substantiations are enumerated at length to support the author's contention that much evidence has been ignored too long by authors of conventional textbooks. Upside down formations, odd things in wrong places, extensive challenges of dating methods, the fading magnetic field of the earth, stalagmite formation, footprints in stone, petrified wood, reexamination of the Sahara, Neanderthal man, and oddities found below the earth's surface are itemized. Keys to unlocking mysteries of ancient history are discussed also.
By statistical considerations, the probability that amino acids and other components would combine spontaneously to form a protein with a chain of one hundred amino acids is examined. The conclusion is that there are not enough amino acids available, nor enough time from the beginning of the earth, even according to the most liberal estimates made nowadays, to bring about even one molecule of any type of protein.
A review is given of geologic investigations using stable isotopes and changes in their abundance. Many natural processes tend to concentrate particular isotopes by a factor of several percent. Four creationist applications arising from this natural isotopic enrichment are considered. First discussed are large scale errors in C14radiometric dating of fresh water Mollusk shells due to C12 isotope exchange. It is shown that this age-determination uncertainty may also affect all other radiometric dating methods. Popular concepts of evaporite deposition and continental drift, that are dependent upon long geologic ages, are discussed. Recent stable isotope data which can be used to contradict these ideas is interpreted. The final application concerns information from extraterrestrial isotopes. Looking ahead, future research with stable isotopes will concentrate on paleotemperatures which may provide additional evidence for a preflood vapor canopy.
Hybridization and heterosis are discussed in relation to development of hybrid corn. Brief consideration is given to early investigations of Shull and East; then tests by the author are described whereby he was able to demonstrate to students some of the aspects of hybridization of corn. After considering relationship of his subject to "evolution." the author concludes, "If corn had developed from some 'simple' plant, such as an alga, it would necessarily have been by the introduction of many new and improved genes. Instead of introducing new genes, the remarkable process of making Zea mays more useful to man involves experts rejecting undesired genes and collecting other genes into more desirable groups.
Drawing from recent studies of the oceans, the author shows that there is much evidence for a young Earth. The amounts of various minerals dissolved in sea water, for instance, would have taken only a tiny fraction of the age of the Earth to accumulate, even according to the position of uniformitarian concepts. A similar statement may be made about the sediment at the bottom of the ocean.
Ear sizes differ significantly in male and female, frogs, Rana catesbeiana. If ears are a means of warning of impending predation, one would expect the ears of both sexes to be the same size. Or, if hearing is essential in feeding behavior no difference in ear size would be expected. Actually male frogs of this species possess greater hearing capability than female frogs. Research is mentioned, and relevance of all these ideas to a creationist framework is explicated.
The few hundred years after the flood are crucial years for anyone who believes in a young earth; for in that time populations had to increase and disperse, and the arts and crafts of civilization had to be taken up again, after the destruction of the former order. The author shows that, in fact, the interval need not have been very long. In particular, no more than about 200 years need be allowed between the flood and the beginning of the dynastic period in Egypt.
A paper, "The Lewis Overthrust," by Burdick appeared in the September issue of the Creation Research Society Quarterly. Field data was reported that had been gathered in recent years from the study of the so-called thrust contact along the visible exposures. The standard physical evidences for thrust or low angle faults are: 1) mylonite or ground-up rock along the upper and nether plates of the natural mill, 2) tectonic breccia, or angular fragments of rock along the contact, and 3) slickensides, or grooves made by the differential movement. In the exposures visited these criteria were missing; therefore the author concluded that the Lewis block may not be a genuine overthrust. In the summer of 1973 geologists Malcolm Fargher and Walter Peters accompanied the field trip sponsored by the Bible-Science Association under the personal direction of Rev. Walter Lang. Fargher reported the existence of slickensides and other physical criteria in the vicinity of the thrust contact, thus perhaps causing a re-evaluation of previous conclusions regarding the Lewis Overthrust. Accordingly a special plane was chartered to fly Fargher and Burdick to the scene in October, 1973. Geoffrey McMahon kindly offered to pilot the plane and, as it turned out pay for a large portion of the expense of the trip.
This article is the substance of a paper delivered at Lansing Community College, Lansing, Michigan, in October 1973, as part of a Special Creation-Evolution Seminar, and is presented here as being of interest to a larger number of people. Using quotations from writers who assume evolution, the writer points out that there is no evidence, from fossils or from anything else, for the vast changes between kinds, which are required according to the evolution model. The evidence may be used much more conclusively to support the special creation of the various kinds, followed, in some cases, by their limited diversification.
When compared to predictions and expectations of many, the comet Kohoutek was the disappointment of the century. Still, the immense publicity which it received raised questions to which creationists should find answers. The author notes that, while comets do not, as some have hoped, contain evidence about the origin of the origin of the universe or of the solar system, they can be considered as evidence for a young solar system, and hence for a young earth.